As the holidays roll around...

Well as the evening of Halloween comes to a close, it officially begins the holiday season. It will soon be Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and that equals spending time with the family. I have been married about two and a half years and have been with my husband for almost four, and it seems our family problems never seem to change. I guess you could say we have the typical "in law" drama which everyone jokes about around the holidays. The truth is that it can almost ruin your Holiday season, which is such a shame. I mean the happiest time of the year (well I adore Christmas, except when I was pregnant :) ), and the family issues remain. My husband and I began our marriage with a lot of issues with his family due to his convert to Catholicism. I will not get into the details because it would be a novel. However, holidays that year were strange and uncomfortable. It calmed down the next year, but as usual both families want you to be with them, so you are forced to split your time. This year, I have a little girl, and I have decided not to engage in anymore family drama. I realize it will always be there, but I am avoiding my first Christmas with our daughter being upsetting or ruined. I am not pregnant this year! and I get to share it with two people I love, my daughter and my husband. I am very close with my family, and my husband is usually a very good sport about spending a lot of time with them. His relationship with his family is very different than the one I have with mine.

I am excited to have our own family now, but I think it is immature and sad that family cannot seem to identify their limits and opinions. We all have lots of opinions about our family! I always joke with my cousin saying our extended family is all crazy! and we all know it! It is just a lot harder and more hurtful and awkward when it is not your blood family but your "in law" family. How do you politely deal with this controversy? Do you continue to take the stress or do you put your foot down for good? I always pray for peace and that things will turn around, but I am getting tired of the same run around......I won't end on a pessimistic note, I am going to be optimistic and say Welcome Holiday Season!